This activity introduces students to the visible light spectrum, and demonstrates what happens to the appearance of an image when certain wavelengths of light are blocked by filters or made visible using special tools. Students are lead through...(View More) experiments with light and filters, demonstrating that the broader the range of the electromagnetic spectrum we can detect, the more information we gather about the universe. By completing this activity, students gain background information that is necessary for activities that follow this one. This activity is part of the "Cosmic Questions: Our Place in Space and Time" educator's guide that was developed to support the Cosmic Questions exhibit. Activities in the guide can be used in conjunction with, or independently of, the exhibt.(View Less)

Learners will explore different ways of displaying visual spectra, including colored "barcode" spectra, like those produced by a diffraction grating, and line plots displaying intensity versus color, or wavelength. Students learn that a diffraction...(View More) grating acts like a prism, bending light into its component colors. The activity is part of Project Spectra, a science and engineering program for middle-high school students, focusing on how light is used to explore the Solar System.(View Less)

This is a lesson about detecting atmospheres of planets. Learners will explore stellar occultation events (by interpreting light curves) to determine if an imaginary dwarf planet "Snorkzat" has an atmosphere. The activity is part of Project Spectra,...(View More) a science and engineering program for middle-high school students, focusing on how light is used to explore the Solar System.(View Less)

In this lesson, students explore how eclipses happen and why Einstein needed a total eclipse to image stars near the Sun in order to demonstrate how the Sun's mass bends the light from a far away star. Using a foam ball and a lamp, learners create a...(View More) solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse, and learn more about why the moon appears differently from one night to the next. The activity needs to be done in a very dark room and requires a very bright light (e.g., a lamp without a shade) and a very dim light (e.g., like one found on a keychain). This activity is part of the Cosmic Times teachers guide and is intended to be used in conjunction with the 1919 Cosmic Times Poster.(View Less)

In this lesson, students will investigate the Doppler Effect and discover how the same principle can be used to identify a possible tornado in storm clouds and investigate the rotation of distant galaxies. Students should be familiar with the...(View More) electromagnetic spectrum and the concept of Doppler Shift (links to background information are provided). Materials required for every group of 2-4 students include: a Slinky toy, safety glasses, meter stick, and colored pencils. This lesson is part of the Cosmic Times teachers guide and is intended to be used in conjunction with the 1965 Cosmic Times Poster.(View Less)

This is a set of materials about spectroscopy, including a downloadable PowerPoint presentation and two demonstrations or activities. Learners will read and/or hear about the science of spectroscopy, what a spectrum is, and how spectroscopy is...(View More) important to the study of our Sun. These resources can also accompany the Stanford Solar Center's Build Your Own Spectroscope activity.(View Less)

Become a crime scene investigator! Learners model Dawn Mission scientists, engineers, and technologists and how they use instrumentation to detect distant worlds. After a briefing to build context, students explore interactions between different...(View More) frequencies/wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum and matter as they investigate the different ways scientists gather and understand remote sensing data, using Dawn instruments as examples. This module is organized around a learning cycle, engaging students through several experiences to activate students' prior knowledge and assess conceptual understanding, informing next steps.(View Less)